Increasingly, engaged couples are considering cost of some wedding jewelry. In today’s high pressure high cost lifestyle couples are really wondering whether or not it is appropriate to spend big on, say, a diamond engagement ring.

The more spent on wedding jewelry less available later for important things in marriage, like a house. Or kids when they arrive. Is it responsible to spend so much to buy a diamond engagement ring when these more important things may need to be compromised later?

Especially when you consider that good quality man made diamonds cannot be distinguished from real diamonds, even by jewellers.

Faux diamonds are big business. The pearl jewelry industry was revolutionised by advent of cultured pearls. Synthetic diamonds are doing same thing to wedding jewelry business.

There are a range of ways to produce synthetic diamonds. Modern technology is very adept at making any product which will sell well and faux diamonds are no exception. And quality is so good that many of alternatives to diamonds perform exceedingly well when compared to diamond using common diamond quality tests.

In such tests as hardness, refractive index, fire, brilliance, luster and others man made diamonds perform admirably. Sometimes even better.

What is moissanite I hear you ask? Moissanite is newest jewelry stone which is taking jewelry industry by storm. And whilst moissanite is popular amongst women, mens moissanite wedding rings are taking off.

Moissanite is a naturally occurring crystal, or jewel, which was only discovered in 1893. It was originally found in tiny quantities in a meteorite which had fallen in Arizona desert. It was discovered by doctor Henry Moissan, after whom it was named.

It exhibits many of qualities of diamonds and looks identical to diamonds to all but a few of most experienced jewellers. So identical in fact that sohisticated equipment is needed to distinguish it from diamonds. Moissanite even outperforms diamonds in most of natural qualities for which diamonds are so renowned. Most importantly, it is much cheaper.

Moissanite is second only to diamond in hardness, and is harder than any other jewel. It does not scratch, fade or change color. It has more brilliance than diamonds or any other popular gemstone.

It occurs naturally on earth but only in tiny quantities so it was not until late 20th century that it became available in sufficient quantities for jewelry making. This followed extensive research on moissanite and discovery of a reliable method of making it in a lab to very high quality.